Amongst the Ruins
by cornontheaub
Summary: Post-apocalyspe AU. 13 years ago the world as we knew it was destroyed. A madman named Madara threatened the world with complete annihilation. With the threat against them, five cities fortified themselves against it. 13 years after the destruction a group of Nine with unseen powers govern those in the wastelands as the cities start to expand.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hi guys. This is my first time uploading anything to FanFiction. This idea was something that was inspired by Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. I have quite a few Naruto ideas fleshed out but this is the first time I have started to write it. I came up with this idea today so please be patient as I start writing and please be kind! Thanks and Enjoy! Cornontheaub. **

13 years ago the world as we knew it was destroyed.

A madman named Madara threatened the world with complete annihilation. With the threat against them, five cities fortified themselves against it. They built walls and electric domes that could withstand the radioactive explosion headed their way.

As the bombs rained down thousands ran towards the sanctuary they believed the city would provide. But they were mistaken. The cities closed their gates and fortified their walls. They left hundreds of thousands of people outside of their protection as they burned in the fires of a destroyed world.

13 years passed and the cities believed the world was ready to be rebuilt, but what they didn't know was that it was being rebuilt all those long years in isolation. As scouts were sent out the cities learned that some survived the apocalypse and the leftover radiation.

Those few called Scavengers lived off of the little left over from the destruction.


	2. Chapter 1: Expansion

Sasuke hated this part of his job. As he walked the borders of the outskirts he realized that he _really_ hated his job.

"Your face might get stuck that way, Sasuke-kun."

His infuriating sensei made Sasuke want to rip his hair out on a normal day, but today it almost brought him over the edge. Today his sensei was so late for mission assignments that they got stuck with patrolling the outskirts while builders worked on a new settlement. The worst job of the bunch, or at least that was his opinion.

Sasuke hated the disgusting rubble that made up the wastelands. Being raised in Konoha made him used to extreme luxury, especially being the son of one of the council members. Camping in the waste made him feel like taking three showers when he finally reached home.

The only reason that the job was bearable was the possibility that there might be sign of a fellow comrade, not a friend because Uchihas never had _friends_, who went missing four months earlier. Shikamaru Nara was known to be a genius in the Academy. He was patrolling this same settlement when he disappeared. No one saw or heard anything from him sense that day.

"Sasuke, do you see that?"

This caused Sasuke to emerge quickly from his thoughts. He could tell his sensei was serious for the lack of –kun on his name. As he searched for what he sensei was speaking of he heard a slight shift in the rubble that caught his attention. There, 100 yards to the left of them was a person watching the builders.

* * *

The reason for the patrols was discovered 3 years ago when the cities finally decided to walk the wastelands. In the rubble of the old world, there were humans. There were very few who scavenged near the cities, but enough for them to realize that there were survivors. The ones that were found were called Scavengers who lived off of the remains in the wasteland. The city tried to bring them back, to give them a _normal_ life inside the walls, but a week of non-exposure, a week of clean air, made them die slowly and painfully.

The cities realized that those who survived were adapted to the waste, that they became one with the staggering amounts of radiation that covered the world when the bombs hit. Unlike the shinobi sent out into the wastelands that couldn't survive without breathers and suits that protected them from the poison that coated everything that was not protected.

The cities decided that they would slowly turn the uninhabitable land into land that they could live in and thrive on in years to come. That is when the Expansion started. Each city started to build colonies outside of their walls; small towns that were protected just like the large one.

After a year and a half of building, problems arose. Workers would disappear mysteriously and buildings would come crashing down seemingly without cause. That is when the shinobi were deployed for protection detail. Another six months passed without incident, but another attack came and its source was found. Scavengers were attacking the colonies. At first the cities believed it to be for resources, but there was no evidence backing that claim. From the facts it seemed that the Scavengers were attacking to stop the building of the colonies, which confused many.

* * *

Sasuke, enraged at the sight of the Scavenger raced forward without thought. This was the reason why he was forced to have Kakashi accompany him on missions; he was easily enraged and volatile according to his assessments.

"Sasuke, wait! You'll scare him off!" Kakashi yelled.

But it was too late. The Scavenger had seen them coming towards him and took off quickly. He tore through the rubble like he had been doing it his whole life, which by his age he probably had. Sasuke and Kakashi had a harder time, but this was when their training kicked in.

They ran until they reached the end of the rubble towards an overgrown forest, which looked as menacing as it was named: The Forest of Death.

Shinobi rarely went into the forest. The few who did either never returned or came home muttering about huge beasts and man eating plants, which didn't bode well with anyone.

Sasuke and Kakashi shared a look and then dove in, following their prey into unknown terrors.

As they ran the boy in front of them made a series of noises that one could mistake for a birdcall if they weren't listening closely. He made a sharp left and Kakashi had to duck quickly, he almost lost his head on a branch the boy must have known was there. Sasuke took the more acrobatic route and jumped over the branch.

They lost sight of the boy for a second, but followed his sounds until they reached a clearing at which he was standing at the other side, waiting for them.

"On orders of the Hokage and the Konoha council all Scavengers are under arrest for the destruction of property and conspiracy against the great cities. All prisoners will be taken to rehabilitation where they will be purified and become a citizen of Konoha." Sasuke stated the charges the council and Hokage put against any Scavenger the shinobi came across.

The boy blinked owlishly for a moment, taken by surpise at what Sasuke had said. Then a creeping smile slowly stretched across his face until it became as mischvious as they come and he threw his head back and laughed until he was doubled over with mirth.

"HA! You Konoha fools think you can arrest any of us? Ha! Aw man thanks for that. I haven't laughed that much in a while." The boy chuckled a bit as he said, "The names Maru, and I'm not coming with you, _you_ are coming with _us_."

"Who's us?" asked Kakashi, slowly checking his surroundings looking for the others Maru mentioned.

"Oh, just me and my gang. Goodnight!" he replied cheerily.

"Good-?" Sasuke tried stating before he was cutoff by a blow to the head. As he fell into blackness he saw his sensei succumb to the same fate.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for how short this seems. It looked so long in Word that I thought I should stop there. Please tell me what you think! If you didn't guess Maru is Konohamaru, I couldn't put Konoha in front of his name caus it wouldn't make sense. His gang is Moegi and Udon as well, I wanted to put them in there but couldn't think of how. I'll update soon probably and then find a rhythm. **


	3. Chapter 2: The Power of Sacrifice

**A/N: Chapter 2! I really like this idea. Everything that is happening right now is just the beginning. There will be a few arcs, I just have to figure out which order they should go in. I have ideas, but I'm not sure how long this will last and I have no idea how to end it. Ideas maybe? Oh and the picture for the cover was done by Nemodemos on DeviantArt, I just added the title to it. Hope you enjoy! Cornontheaub**

* * *

Sasuke felt that he was awake before saw it. If the throbbing in the back of his head said anything, then those kids must have a strong arm. A slow ache settled in place of the incessant stabbing pain he felt when he first woke.

When he opened his eyes all he saw was darkness. He could barely make out Kakashi's form tied to a chair next to him. He then took notice of the ropes restricting any movement. Even his fingers were tied so they couldn't move; whoever did this was either overly cautious or paranoid.

"Don't panic Sasuke. We'll figure something out." Kakashi whispered when he noticed his student awake.

Kakashi had woken what seemed like hours ago, but it could have been minutes. It was hard to tell time in never ending black. He had tried to reach his hidden knife, but however had tied them down had done a thorough job. It led him to believe that they had done this many times before.

He listened to the soft breathing of his student, glad that he was breathing normally and not severely injured. Scenarios played through his head, but the only conclusion to what they were there for was interrogation, maybe torture, but he didn't think the kids would be able to stomach that.

'But,' he though, 'you never know what they had to stomach living out in the waste.'

Both shinobi strained to hear anything outside of their cell, but the only sound was their quiet breathing.

* * *

Hours later Kakashi woke to the sounds of footsteps. He kicked Sasuke's leg as well as he could in his position to wake him.

"Wha-?" Sasuke moaned incoherently.

"Sh." Whispered Kakashi, "Someone's coming. Actually it might be two but the footsteps echo."

Both waited tensely as the footsteps came nearer until a click could be heard coming from the door of their cell. They heard muffled voices murmuring to each other. One was light, female, and the other was not deep but smooth and calm, male.

"How long have they been here Two?" asked the male. He seemed tired. His voice held exasperation and minor annoyance, like seeing to them was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment.

"The Corps brought them here this afternoon. They've been in the cell for about 6 hours." Replied the female, or Two, according to what the male called her.

As the door screeched open light flooded in the cell temporarily blinding the occupants. Sasuke blinked out the glare from the light to see two blondes. They both were tall, the male only being a few inches taller than the female. He had on goggles and a trench coat with many ripped pieces of fabric hanging off that looked like tails. His clothes were typical of Scavengers, tattered and thrown together in an assortment: a waistcoat buttoned up over a bare chest, baggy pants tapped at the thigh and holding a holster with a gun, and large boots with steel plates on the toes. The girl was dressed more elegantly, but still dirtily. She had her long blonde hair tied with bandages into one tail that reached her hips, a purple corset with leather tied together under the bodice, and a black train that was short in the front and reached the ground at the back over small boots that concealed a gun whose handle poked out the top.

As he looked closer Sasuke could see whisker-like scars on the male's face, which looked ragged and painful, like someone had dragged a knife slowly across his face six times.

The male slammed the door shut, shrouding them all in darkness once more and grabbed an unnoticed chair in the corner. He sat in it backwards as the girl leaned against the wall and watched them with feline-like eyes. Sasuke thought he could see them glint like a predator in the night and it made him shiver subconsciously.

The male watched Kakashi and Sasuke patiently, as if he was waiting for them to start a conversation with him. Goggled eyes moved from face to face, waiting for one to pluck up the courage to speak. With a sigh he turned to the girl on the wall and said, "What do you think the city is trying to pull, going where they don't belong." He said it as if it was the most idiotic thing in the world for the city to expand into the waste.

Kakashi stayed silent and waited for either one to say something else. He had no answer for the question, for it was obviously rhetorical. With a mental sigh, however, he realized his student wouldn't realize and answer anyways.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Sasuke gritted out angrily. How dare these lowlifes talk about his city as if it was idiotic.

"Heh. Exactly what I said. You city folk have no business coming into the waste. You should just stay in your walls, safe." He chuckled a bit as he answered in a way that infuriated Sasuke even more.

"You disgusting Scavenger scum don't deserve to live on these lands. They belong to the cities and we have the right to govern them." Sasuke said condescendingly with a smirk on his face. He wanted to get the man angry, he wanted to see him infuriated like he himself had been moments ago.

The goggled man was quiet, Kakashi was afraid that his student had gone too far and the man was going to kill him, or both of them. What neither of them expected, however, was for him to throw back his head and guffaw as if what Sasuke had uttered was the funniest thing he had ever heard. The girl laughed along with him, her hand covering her face as she giggled.

"Hehe. Some government you have, kid. I don't recall them governing anything in the waste for thirteen years now." The male said, chuckling at first, but turning condescending towards the end. "I don't remember the cities being there thirteen years ago either, when the bombs dropped. Where was your government then?"

"They probably didn't want scum like you polluting us all." Sasuke spat as an answer. For some reason this man infuriated him more than usual, even for his uncontrollable temper.

The goggled man clenched his fists and let out a low growl, enraged with what he had said. Sasuke had gotten what he wanted, but seeing and hearing the blonde made him wish he hadn't.

"And what about the others. The hundreds of thousands stuck outside of those walls. What about all those children and families looking for sanctuary from the destruction? Were they all scum too? Every one?" He was beyond angry now; he was seeing red. His hand was twitching towards his firearm on his thigh. One shot and the disgusting raven would be dead and he wouldn't have to hear his bullshit any longer.

Both Kakashi and Sasuke were quiet. They had heard of and had seen what others called The Valley of Bones. Outside of the gates skeletons lied by the thousands, slowly turning to dust over the years. For miles bones circled the walls, ghostly souvenirs of those who cried out to the city for help, but were denied.

Two, set her hand on her friends shoulder. Silent support and a steady hand to hold him back from his thoughts on killing the boy, even if she wanted to herself.

"I was five," the man started. "Five years old when the threats were made. My parents ran for three days without rest towards Konoha."

* * *

"Hurry Minato, we're almost there!" A beautiful redhead named Kushina yelled to her husband as she ran.

"You know I've never been able to keep up with you. I've chased you since we were kids." He chuckled and sped up until he was beside his wife, flashing her a full grin. His thoughts filled with love for his wife and son, and a burning passion to protect them. They just needed to make it to the city.

"There it is! Konoha! It's as beautiful as they say, huh Naruto-kun." Kushina spoke with awe lacing her voice. She poked her son in his side as he looked with wide eyes at the shining skyline. They slowed to a stop and panted, out of breath from their long run. As they neared the walls they noticed the large amount of people crowding the gates and yelling.

"Please, take my child, let her in!" "There has to be room left!" "Please, save us!"

"What's happening Minato?" Kushina asked, knowing the answer but not wanting to accept it.

"ATTENTION CITIZENS. WE ARE SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIECE, BUT THE GATES ARE CLOSED. THERE WILL BE NO MORE ACCESS TO KONOHA. STAY SAFE." An announcement was made as the gates bolted shut and a force field surrounded the top of the city, dooming those outside.

"They've killed us all," Minato said in a low voice. Angered, but resigned to his fate. Kushina wept softly into her son's bright golden hair. He held his mother and stroked her hair even if he didn't completely understand what was happening.

"Dad, we're not goin' to the city?" He asked while looking at all the weeping families from over his mother's shoulder.

"No Naruto-kun, we're not. We'll just have to find somewhere else to stay." Minato answered with a strained voice, but tried to sound happy for his son. Kushina's sobs became heavier when he spoke.

* * *

"My parents found an empty building where we stayed for two days until the bombs fell. Those outside the walls cried and sang together as the end neared. My parents held me in their arms and pleaded for me to live as they were burned into nothing from the radioactive heat. I survived under the charred remains of my parents and lived like they had asked." He spoke in a calm voice, one that betrayed no emotion, as if he was hiding it behind his calmness. Two squeezed her hand on his shoulder feeling his pain as she had survived a similar story.

"I found the few who survived and we stuck together. It wasn't until years later that my powers began to surface. I had taken the sacrifice of the people outside of the cities and evolved into someone even more powerful. A jinchuriki, the power of human sacrifice."

* * *

**A/N: Sobs, I almost literally cried as I wrote this. I must be heartless, but it seemed to simple written on paper. Please review and tell me if this was good or not. Also tell me if the length is okay. I'll upload another soon I hope, if I can write with all these tears in my eyes.**


	4. Chapter 3: Of Bijuu and Tails

**A/N: Wow, this took me a long time to write. I'm not sure why, but I might have freaked out a bit about putting my writing online. Well, here is the next chapter. Tell me what you think?**

* * *

The heavy silence that followed the horrifying story and revelation was suddenly broken by a concise knock on the door.

Shaken from his depressing thoughts by the piercing noise, Naruto slowly rose from his seat and moved to open it. A few words are murmured quietly between whoever knocked and the goggled man.

"Two," he said as he turned back into the dark room, "we're leaving."

Without a word Two stood and followed Naruto out of the door into a hall unseen by the two captives. The door swung shut with a resounding thud and the sound of a lock sliding into place pierced their ears before quiet footsteps faded away.

Sasuke huffed, shaken by the story told, but too prideful to admit his weakness. Kakashi could tell, he knew, but there was no chance of him acknowledging the suffering told to them.

As they sat, they both contemplated what their next move would be. There was no escaping, that much was clear. Their bindings were tight and their hidden blades out of reach from numb fingers tied too tightly. Kakashi still kept the thought of torture and death as an option, but rethought his previous notions of the 'barbaric' Scavengers.

It could have been minutes, or hours, later when three hurried pairs of footsteps and excited and indistinguishable chatter reached both captive's ears.

The lock slid back and the door flew open as a small body threw itself into the room with two bowls in hand.

It only took moments for Kakashi and Sasuke to recognize the boy, how could one forget their captor? As Sasuke opened his mouth to utter a scathing comment, two more bodies ran in almost causing the boy to drop his cargo and spill the contents on the floor.

"Moegi, Udon! You almost made me spill!" The boy cried indignantly, sticking his lower lip out into a – not that Sasuke will ever admit it – _cute_ pout. He wore a dirtied long-sleeved shirt and long pants. The most noticeable article of clothing he wore was a blue scarf, so long it dragged upon the floor.

"Oh, stuff it Maru, who cares if you spill a little anyways. Its not like anyone is going to care what _they _eat." The girl, Moegi, answered with a hand placed on her small hip. Her orange hair was tied in two pigtails that defied gravity, and she had incredibly rosy cheeks. She wore a tattered dress that reached her bruised knees with a shirt underneath. All three teens seemed to wear goggles on their forehead, just like a certain blonde haired man.

"Moegi, they need to eat just like the rest of us." The second boy, Udon, spoke as he wiped his running nose on his dirty sleeve. He wore similar clothing to Maru, but the only difference was a pair of glasses with a small crack on one side.

"Yeah, Moegi, cut them some slack," Maru interjected, "I mean they had to have been incompetent or in serious trouble to be stuck with the Waste patrol."

At this Sasuke visibly tensed. He seethed outwardly, hissing a bit in his anger.

"Who do you think you are, calling us incompetent?" he spoke angrily.

As he said this all three teenagers, tensed, then laughed or giggled towards him.

"Hehe. You would have to be pretty awful at your job to be beaten down by a couple of kids." Moegi choked out between giggles.

"Hey! What gives Moegi? We're not kids no more!" Maru shouted, taking personal affront to the comment.

"Oh stuff it, Maru. You know what I mean." She replied exasperated at her friend's speech.

"Um, you guys." Udon tried to interject.

"Moegi, we're soldiers now. Boss said that means we're adults according to law. Not dumb kids." Maru stated, hands on hips and pout forming on his lips.

"Guys." Udon spoke louder this time, but was again unnoticed by his friends.

"Whatever, Maru. I'll start treating you like an adult when you start acting like one." Moegi spoke condescendingly. She knew the law, but that didn't mean they were that old anyways.

"GUYS!" Udon yelled this time, hoping to get his teams attention. During the entire conversation both Kakashi and Sasuke had large drops of sweat slowly making its way down their face. They couldn't believe how childish the teens seemed arguing amongst themselves. Kakashi, and especially Sasuke, was ashamed to have been bested by a couple of kids.

The two arguing teens turned to Udon and shouted, "WHAT?"

"Um, we have to go report to Sensei, we were supposed to be there three minutes ago." Udon stammered out to his fuming teammates.

"UWAH! Why didn't you say something earlier Udon? Now we're late!" Maru yelled while running in circles, clearly distressed as he ran from the room. "Come on, we have to go!"

"Wait Maru! We forgot to feed the prisoners!" Called Moegi chasing after him. Udon looked from the abandoned bowls upon the chair to the door and then back to the prisoners. He repeated this twice quickly before chasing after his friends in a hurry.

"Um, I have to go! You'll be transported in the morning, they're sending you to the city!" he called as he ran, slamming the metal door and locking it after.

* * *

Kakashi was roused from his uncomfortable sleep by movement behind him. Startled, he realized that someone was untying his bindings.

"Who's there?" he asked the dark room, not entirely expecting an answer.

"Just me, Cyclops."

As he looked over his shoulder he briefly saw a flash of long blonde hair tied into a tail. It was Two. Kakashi was impressed and slightly anxious, for he should have been able to sense someone come in the room, let alone walk up to his unprotected back. He could only discern two things from this, he was losing his touch or Two was exceptionally good. The latter seemed more reasonable.

"Where are we going, Two?" He asked sounding bored, but he could feel the tension seeping into his shoulders, ready to spring into action at any moment.

"Call me Yugito, and you two are coming with us to the city." She replied amicably. She seemed to ignore Kakashi's tenseness, which put him more on edge.

"Which city?" he asked, "Konoha?"

"Haha," she chuckled, startling Sasuke from his sleep, "No, we don't take city folk back to that hell-hole. We bring them to our city. Trust me, not many want to leave after they've seen what the outside has to offer."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke said scathingly. "What do you keep us prisoners until we'll stay anywhere for freedom? Do you brainwash us into thinking we're lowly Scavengers like you?"

"No," Yugito replied, "You'll understand more once you get there, but you'll see the mistake the Cities made the day they decided to send all those millions to death."

This seemed to be the end of the conversation. Kakashi's bindings were untied, but he made no move to escape, he needed Sasuke first and he wasn't sure if he should bring his knife out to a gunfight. There was no telling how many more Scavengers were outside the door.

Sasuke's bindings were cut and he tried to rise quickly to make a move against Yugito, but she just stood and watched as he fell on his face. His legs had given out on him, and she seemed to know that they would.

"I wouldn't be trying to move around too much," she said, smirking at the boy on the ground. "You aren't used to the air out here, or haven't you noticed the lack of breathers on your faces?"

This revelation surprised both Sasuke and Kakashi, they hadn't expected their breathers to be gone. In every training class they had, they were given graphic pictures of death by inhaling radiation.

"Oh don't get your panties in a twist. You'll be fine. You might be a bit tired for a while, but almost everyone gets used to the radiation sooner or later." Yugito seemed fine with it, calmly picking up Sasuke by his shirt and throwing an arm over her shoulder. "If you get sick we have healers who can fix you up just fine."

Kakashi was next, she helped him up by his elbow and he stood on shaky legs. Just standing made him breathless and he battled for air with each breath. Leaning on Yugito, they both slowly began the trek to the door, hoping that they wouldn't have to walk far.

They made it to the door and into a dark hallway, littered with flickering lights and mildew dripping from the walls. Yugito continued on and they passed several more doors along the way. Finally, after minutes of shuffling tiredly they made it to a staircase.

The walk up the stairs was a serious challenge, one Sasuke would never admit to years after the incident. Both Sasuke's and Kakashi's pride was lowered significantly when Yugito threw both of them over her shoulders a quarter of the way up and walked the stairs as if there was nothing weighing her down.

When they reached the top a door was waiting for them. It creaked as it opened and Yugito set them both down in time for them to be blinded by the light of the open sky.

They blinked wearily and soon they could make out what could only be described as a town. Dozens of people milled about, loading carts and walking into buildings. There were wagons filled with weaponry, food, and scraps rolling down the street pulled by strange creatures that looked like small elephants with long hair and large tusks.

Small children ran around, shooting each other with toy guns and shrieking as they played dramatic deaths.

All of this overwhelmed Kakashi and Sasuke. All of their training had defined Scavengers as scrappers who lived in the ruins of the old world, stealing from and killing anyone who came their way to survive. They had been wrong.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Yugito asked as she gazed upon the people. "This is one of our smallest towns, the border towns are always smaller. Many of our citizens don't like living so close to the cities. If they keep expanding at this rate, then these people will have to pack up and move closer inland."

Before Kakashi or Sasuke could utter words that were stuck in their throat, they were interrupted. Excited yelling could be heard along with the beating of large feet upon the ground. Up ahead citizens began parting along the streets all smiling and shaking their heads as if this was an everyday occurrence.

"Oh not again. Must he do this every time?" Yugito asks no one, shaking her head and hiding her amusement behind an annoyed expression.

Around the corner came a large, orange fox, taller than a large horse, with nine tails waving behind it like a banner. Behind it a raccoon-like creature of the same size barrels down the road with a large cat with two tails, tied to its saddle.

Kakashi and Sasuke could make out the blonde haired man on top of the fox smiling and yelling to the redhead on the raccoon.

"Come on, Gaara! And here I thought you were number One! They might need to call you Two-sama after this!" Naruto taunted his redheaded friend over his shoulder as they raced down the road.

"Baka," the other replied calmly, unruffled by his friends taunts, "must you be so energetic. Who said we were racing anyways."

Naruto squawked, "Who you calling baka, teme!" They both came to a stop in front of their speechless captives and an irritated, but amused Yugito.

"Obviously you." Gaara replied towards Naruto. He then turned to Yugito, "Are you sure this baka should be leading us?"

Naruto flailed as he squawked again, almost falling from his saddle.

"Well, beggars can't be choosers." Yugito answered with a lift of her shoulders, much to the ire of her leader.

"Ungrateful. Should respect me more…" Naruto muttered obscenities towards his subordinates as he sulked.

"What the hell are those things?" Sasuke finally finds the courage to ask, as he leans away from the orange fox eyeing him distastefully.

"They are called Biju, or the Nine tailed beasts." The redhead named Gaara explains. "Each one is different and each member of the Nine has one that represents their number."

"Yeah, Gaara has the Ichibi or the One-tailed raccoon. I have Nibi, the two-tailed cat. And Naruto has Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox." Yugito said as she pointed to each person and their mount.

"We're called by our number to show respect. Each of the Nine governs and protects the waste and our people elected us as leaders. Naruto, or Nine-sama, is the leader of us all." Gaara finished the explanation seemingly bored or uninterested in the conversation.

Sasuke scoffs at the thought of the blonde leading anyone, let alone every living Scavenger, but he did not speak his protests out loud. Kakashi looked upon them with respect, he could feel the power radiating off of them, their very posture spoke of untold confidence.

Yugito passed Sasuke unto Gaara's mount and tied him to the saddle. The same was done to Kakashi on her's. Each Jinchuriki then began riding down the road towards the edge of the town, which could be seen as the people moved out of their path.

"Goodbye One-sama, Two-sama, Nine-sama!" "We'll miss you!" "Come back soon!" "Be safe!" The peple cried out to their leaders as they made their way out of town.

"Hey boss, wait up!" A young voice yelled. They halted and Naruto turned around to see the Maru Corps chasing after them and waving their hands.

"Boss! Boss! Can't we come with you?" They asked him, pleading with pouted lips and puppy eyes.

"I'm sorry guys, but you're on patrol out here. I'll see you in a few weeks at the city when you're shifts over." Naruto replied, looking sincerely regretful.

"Awh." All three bowed their heads, looking miserable.

"But I gave you a mission. I want this town to be kept safe and I have given this task to you. Don't disappoint me." Naruto said in his 'leader voice' – according to Yugito - that gave no room for protests.

"You got it boss!" Maru yelled pumping a fist in the air. Moegi and Udon both nodded their heads excitedly saying, "We'll do our best!"

The three Jinchuriki turned again and began their trek through the waste, waving their hands behind their heads in farewell.

It would be a long journey home.

* * *

**A/N: I forgot to say: Thank you! to enoix27. They were a real help in giving me suggestions! So Thank YOu Very MUCH! Please, if you could, review and tell me what you think. Should I make these longer? This was my longest yet and I could have added more, but I didn't know where to stop. Whoops. **


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